Abalone 'gold rush' could cost more lives

A "GOLD rush" type obsession with abalone could cost more lives, according to a West Australian fishing expert, as the search continues for a Malaysian national washed away while searching for the marine delicacy.

Police have resumed the search for the 20-year old man, who early on Sunday was swept into heavy seas by a vicious rip in Yanchep Lagoon, 55 kilometres north of Perth.

The man was with a group searching for the rare and expensive abalone on the opening day of the heavily restricted recreational fishing season for the marine snail.

Just one hour on the first Sunday of every month until March 2013 has been left open for members of the public to try to catch abalone.

Despite a rough sea and strong winds over the weekend, fishers at both Yanchep and Mullaloo braved the wild conditions to fish - with 15 requiring rescue.

Police, volunteer marine rescue and surf lifesaving crews were back in the water all day on Monday in an attempt to find the missing man.

Andrew Rowland, the CEO of peak recreation fishing body Recfishwest, said serious thought needed to be put into how the brief season was policed - and whether local authorities should close beaches if rough conditions threatened another disaster.

"There seems to be somewhat of an obsession with these little creatures and we get a gold rush mentality going on where people are willing to put themselves in considerable danger," Dr Rowland told Fairfax Radio.

"It is difficult to control that driver and that motivation."

Dr Rowland said abalone fishers needed to assess the weather forecast before going on the hunt.

"Some of them still made the choice to go in, and quite frankly were unprepared," he said.

"From a cultural perspective, it is a large proportion of immigrant population who are out there fishing (for abalone).

"They might not have the knowledge of local conditions and might not have a strong swimming ability - and that is a recipe for disaster."

The Malaysian man, who was with a group of four people, went missing between 7:30am and 8am (WST) on Sunday after getting caught in a rip.

The three male survivors from the group were taken to Joondalup Health Campus and one was held overnight.

It is not the first time abalone fishing has almost caused a fatality at Yanchep, with local surf lifesaving president John Heesters - who assisted in the attempted rescue on Sunday - helping to save two non-English speaking fishers in 2010.

Beaches in Perth and outlying suburbs have been repeatedly closed already this year from threats of sharks, lightning and even seaweed which shut the famous Cottesloe Beach last month on the authority of Surf Lifesaving WA.

Dr Rowland said if that drastic action was what was needed to prevent another disaster, then it should be considered.

"We would support the closure of beaches - if that's what it comes to to make people safer, and they can't really make a decision for themselves," Dr Rowland said.